Sikorsky's 'Worldwide' Cuts Will Mostly Hit Connecticut

Nearly three-quarters of the worldwide downsizing announced Thursday at Sikorsky Aircraft will come in Connecticut, mostly among the hourly factory workforce.

The helicopter-maker will cut 567 jobs around the world, with 419 in Connecticut, and 384 of those are union workers, according to Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District. The Teamsters union confirmed the proposed cuts that would affect its ranks.

"I am extremely disappointed that Sikorsky will be laying off 419 workers in Connecticut. Keeping good, high-skilled Sikorsky manufacturing jobs in the Third Congressional District over the long-term is and has always been a top priority of mine," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, whose district includes the Stratford assembly plant, Shelton's Aerospace Services plant and Sikorsky's headquarters, also in Stratford.

Sikorsky cited lower anticipated sales in announcing last week that it would pare 3 percent of its global workforce, and said it had begun the process, but did not give totals. Commercial business has been hurt by the recession and Sikorsky has just one more year of a massive Black Hawk contract with the Pentagon.

In addition, executives have said they expect the only growth that Sikorsky will have in coming years will be from international Black Hawk sales and aftermarket activities — and international Black Hawk work has moved to Poland, where labor costs are lower.

United Technologies Corp., Sikorsky's parent, gave DeLauro the specific downsizing numbers, her office said. A Sikorsky spokesman declined to comment on the figures Monday.

Sikorsky has 18,000 employees globally, more than half of them — 9,200 — in Connecticut. Sikorsky's workforce in the state has grown significantly in the past decade, increasing by 2,000, making the company a bright spot in the state's economy.

Workers in Connecticut are split nearly evenly between production and engineering or administration.

Rocco Calo, leader of the Teamsters local that represents Sikorsky's Connecticut, Florida and Alabama's hourly workers, said he doesn't believe there will be a reduction of 384 positions in the end, because the company needs about 45 people in other areas, and he believes the company will retrain current employees for those jobs.

But no matter what the number, it hurts.

"I'm disappointed because I'm a labor person, and these are great middle-class jobs and it hurts me to see anybody get laid off, because I'm a firm believer in this country having a strong middle class," Calo said.

The company's executives hope older workers will take buyout packages, reducing the number of involuntary separations.

Calo said he's confident that there will be enough people to volunteer for an early retirement package that there won't be any layoffs. He said while the average hourly rate falls between $28 and $30 an hour, many of the most senior workers make more than that.The top hourly wage is $39.85, and the entry wage in the lowest classification is $21.59.

Under the union contract, any worker 55 and older can volunteer to leave, receive severance of a week's pay for each year of service, a $5,000 lump sum, and a year of medical and dental insurance. Calo said there are 900 people who qualify for the buyout in the areas targeted for downsizing.

The company wants volunteers to sign up by October 7. It's not clear when the jobs would disappear, but Calo said he expects it to start in late October or November and continue through the middle of next year.

DeLauro said in a statement released Monday that she will speak with Sikorsky leadership to discuss how the delegation and executives can ensure the jobs stay in Stratford.

"We greatly respect Congresswoman DeLauro's views and appreciate her support over the years," said Sikorsky Spokesman Paul Jackson. "We will be happy to discuss with her the changing conditions affecting our business."

Sikorsky President Jeff Pino told stock analysts in early 2010: "We've nearly tripled the amount of direct production labor hours from 2006 to 2009. And for the first time in the history of our company, more than half of our hours are outside of Connecticut. We're very proud of that because outside of Connecticut, as I told you last year, by definition is low-cost sourcing. So clearly this move and this restructuring was a huge part of the [profit] improvement that we've seen."

Sikorsky hit its goal of a 10 percent profit margin in 2010, and Pino is aiming for a 14 percent profit margin by 2014.